


introduce me to her, say I'm just an old friend

by justpalsbeingals



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV)
Genre: Dinah gets asked out by someone else, F/F, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Laurel cares A LOT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28595874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justpalsbeingals/pseuds/justpalsbeingals
Summary: Laurel isn’t jealous in the slightest.Maybe she’s a little envious that Vanessa’s on a date with the one person Laurel’s had her eye on for years. Maybe she’s a little bitter, but that’s just because Dinah is on a date with someone who looks remarkably similar to Laurel, down to the sharp jaw, short hair, and dangerous scowl.But jealous?Laurel’s not jealous.
Relationships: Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance
Comments: 13
Kudos: 38





	introduce me to her, say I'm just an old friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HerDiamonds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerDiamonds/gifts).



> a birthday gift for Coco (@HerDiamonds); enjoy these idiots in love 🧁💓
> 
> title from All Love by Fletcher which 100% inspired this whole thing

It was bound to happen eventually.

Laurel knew it. Mia knew it. The whole goddamn city probably knew it. 

It’s not like Dinah was any stranger to getting asked out. She got asked out; she got asked out a lot, actually. By Saturday night patrons and drink vendors and the one baker at the farmer’s market who always smiles a bit too wide for Laurel’s liking. 

With all the invitations to dinners and movies and walks in the park, it isn’t exactly a surprise that one day Dinah asks Laurel to cover at the bar for an evening so she can go on a date. 

It isn’t a surprise. It really isn’t. Given enough time, Laurel knew she’d one day have to face the reality of Dinah going on a date. Tonight just happens to be the night.

It’s not surprising, but it still hurts. 

After all the back and forth, years of history, of battling to camaraderie and enemies turned roommates, Laurel knows Dinah better than anyone. She knows her better and cares for her more than anyone else. It’s been a long time coming, this evolution of hate to begrudging cooperation to absolute trust and devotion, and now it’s fully formed into a love which is as deep as it is unrequited.

See, despite Laurel’s complete trust in Dinah, she’s never found it in herself to take the next step and reveal her feelings. Call it fear or cowardice or plain insecurity, the point stands: Dinah knows of nothing more than platonic feelings from Laurel.

And now Dinah has a date. A date with a leggy blonde who frequents The Fish Net on Thursday nights with the rest of her colleagues from a nearby accounting firm. Vanessa. She has a penchant for dark lipstick, always has her hair perfectly curled, and never fails to give Laurel a once over when she appears by Dinah’s side.

Laurel sees it for what it is. Vanessa is sizing her up to see if she’s a threat. Evidently Laurel isn’t enough of one, because one night Vanessa asks Dinah out for sushi, and Dinah says yes. 

Laurel’s pouring drinks for a group of kids who are barely of legal drinking age when Vanessa and Dinah return from their dinner for what Laurel assumes are post-date drinks. 

Vanessa’s dressed nearly entirely in black. Black heels, black jeans, a metallic shirt that’s so dark it may as well be black. She has her perfect hair perfectly done, and when Dinah says something, Vanessa smiles. Even her teeth are perfect.

Laurel isn’t jealous in the slightest. 

Maybe she’s a little envious that Vanessa’s on a date with the one person Laurel’s had her eye on for years. Maybe she’s a little bitter, but that’s just because Dinah is on a date with someone who looks remarkably similar to Laurel, down to the sharp jaw, short hair, and dangerous scowl.

But jealous? 

Laurel’s not jealous.

She’s not jealous when they walk in the bar with Dinah on Vanessa’s arm. Not jealous when Dinah chuckles at something Vanessa whispers. Laurel isn’t even jealous at how relaxed Dinah looks in her presence, like this wasn’t an awkward first date but an evening which was a pleasure. 

The drink which overflows because Laurel is paying more attention to Dinah and her companion than her job means nothing. She cleans up the glass before running it down to the table which ordered it, then stands back in her usual spot to observe. 

She really shouldn’t. It’ll just make her ~~jealous~~ envious. (Like there’s a difference.)

“Holding down the fort?” Dinah’s voice brings Laurel back to this plane. A second ago, she was imagining a universe where she stayed Black Siren rather than Black Canary. In that world, Laurel has no qualms about making a certain woman disappear. Back in this reality, Laurel only half considers the option. 

Laurel shrugs. “Wednesday crowd isn’t a real lively one.”

It isn’t meant to be a jab necessarily, but if it’s interpreted that way, Laurel won’t complain. Seriously, who takes a woman like Dinah out on a Wednesday? She deserves the full dedication of a Friday or Saturday, not a quick weekday eat. 

Dinah doesn’t seem to pick up on it.

“This is the woman you have to meet,” Dinah is saying to Vanessa while gesturing at Laurel. “Laurel, Vanessa.” 

Vanessa smiles, maybe a bit curtly if you ask Laurel, so Laurel reflects the same amount of warmth in her own expression. 

“She talked my ear off about you,” Vanessa comments.

“All good things, I hope.” Laurel assumes at least. Dinah isn’t much one to talk bad about others, except to Laurel.

It’s sort of an awkward standoff, even when it shouldn’t be. A date meeting the best friend should be tense at best, but Laurel feels wafts of hate coming in her general direction. Maybe Laurel is more of a threat than she thought.

“You’re my oldest friend, Laur, of course all good things.”

That’s not strictly true. You have to ignore the first year and a half of them knowing each other to get to the all-good-things part of their relationship. Ignore the several attempts at murder, the lying, the working with the enemy, and Laurel’s general attitude towards Dinah’s team. 

The oldest friend part is true, but only when you consider they came from the past. Not many others can say they’ve known someone over twenty years due to time travel.

A patron down at the end of the bar raises a hand to get Laurel’s attention, and she accepts the distraction gratefully. She gives a goodbye to Laurel and Vanessa, wishes them a good rest of their evening, then heads to take drink orders. 

Laurel spends the rest of the night trying not to dwell on why Dinah’s introduction hurt. 

They are old friends. Best friends even. 

And that’s it.

Which, when it comes down to it, is probably Laurel’s fault. She’s had opportunities to tell Dinah about her feelings. If she were a bit more brave, a little more reckless, or simply cared less about Dinah, she might’ve made a move. 

But she hasn’t. And now she’s reduced to oldest friend while Dinah bats her eyes at Vanessa in a corner of the bar. 

Vanessa also looks more than a bit like Laurel, a detail which she is struggling to process. It’s difficult to understand how she feels about it, but it’s certainly negative. 

Laurel’s glad when she misses Vanessa’s departure. She doesn’t know if the date ends with a kiss or a stilted handshake, but if she had to take bets, a promise to see each other again seems more likely than the alternative. What Laurel doesn’t miss, however, is the giddy smile Dinah wears until she heads to bed.

As it turns out, Vanessa is not a one time date. In fact, she becomes a bit of a regular face. 

Laurel sees Vanessa everywhere. She’s in their apartment and down in the bar, picking Dinah up and coming over for the occasional evening. The only area of Laurel’s life Vanessa hasn’t infiltrated is the Canary facility. At least Laurel still has something that’s hers. 

Soon, Dinah isn’t just getting dinner with Vanessa. She’s spending the night at her place. Going out for the day. Spending the _weekend_ away on a trip. 

They’re going steady.

They’re going steady, and Dinah is happy, and so Laurel is happy. Even if she wants to die a little bit every time she sees Dinah holding Vanessa's. Even if witnessing a standard amount of flirting makes her stomach turn. 

But Dinah seems to really enjoy Vanessa’s company. She talks of the fun experiences they share, of the way she’s whip smart and always up for a competition. Of how it’s nice to be with someone, even if it’s not serious.

Laurel would kill to be that serious with Dinah. Not that she’ll ever tell.

The first time Vanessa cancels on a date, Dinah takes it in stride. It’s a “work emergency”. What kind of work emergencies an accountant has, Laurel doesn’t know, but far be it for her to complain about a night alone with Dinah. They open a bottle of wine and curl up on the couch and it’s just like old times.

The second time Vanessa cancels on a date, Laurel notices the way Dinah shrinks into herself, obviously disappointed. Dinah’s been nothing but smiles for weeks now, so this is a change. 

Laurel spends the whole night attempting to make Dinah laugh.

It’s a two-off event, Vanessa cancelling. She makes up for it with flowers the next time she picks up Dinah, and all seems to be well.

(Laurel ignores how Dinah once said she thought flowers were useless gifts. If it makes her happy, then it’s fine. Even if Laurel feels a wave of resentment every time she so much as glances over at the vase.)

Things continue as normal. Dinah spends some nights with Vanessa. Laurel secretly looks into getting her own apartment so she doesn’t worry about one day being sexiled. 

They train the new Canaries and work as vigilantes, and at the end of the day, Laurel and Dinah are still best friends. Even if Laurel feels like she’s dying a bit inside.

Dinah comes home one evening with a confused look to her face. Laurel picks up on it and immediately asks Dinah what’s up.

“Nothing, I’m fine. Vanessa just said something at dinner, and it had me thinking.”

“Oh?” Laurel keeps her answer as neutral as possible, even though she’s about to go into a panic over what Vanessa could’ve possibly said. “What’d she say?”

Dinah picks at the hem of her shirt in an uncharacteristic move. “Just some anti-vigilante shit. It wasn’t a big deal though.” Dinah nods her head towards the stairs. “I’m gonna turn in.”

Laurel knows Dinah well enough to know this is a big deal. Even if they aren’t vigilantes anymore, it’s a part of Dinah’s old self. She is the Black Canary through and through.

Sure, Vanessa doesn’t know this, and sure, there’s a chance Vanessa’s comment was said innocently, but it gives Laurel all the reason she needs to be on her guard. 

She’s been wary of Vanessa since they were first introduced, but Laurel chalked it up to protectiveness over Dinah. Maybe even a little jealousy, which Laurel can finally admit to. Now though, now Laurel has reason to keep an extra eye out as to how Vanessa treats Dinah. 

Even with her eyes peeled, Laurel doesn’t put together the pieces when it happens. 

She notices Dinah being less consistent than normal. Sometimes she’s happy and enthused and at peace with everything. Other times she’s worn down and quiet and a little touchy. 

She notices how Dinah gets a little defensive when Laurel asks about Vanessa, even though she tries her best to stay neutral about it. 

She hears Dinah cry in the bathroom one day, and that’s really the final straw for Laurel.

Dinah hides away in her room for the better part of the evening, while Laurel paces in the living room wondering what the hell Vanessa’s done. It’s the only logical explanation for Dinah’s mood.

With a tentative hand, Laurel knocks on Dinah’s door. 

“What, Laur?” Dinah’s voice is tired and small.

“Can I come in?”

The door opens a few seconds later to a pajama cladded Dinah. 

It dawns on Laurel that she should’ve brought something up. Tea. Or wine. Or dinner, since she knows Dinah hasn’t come down to eat. 

They settle on the bed, Dinah clearly waiting for Laurel to get on with whatever her reason for coming in is.

“What happened?” Laurel asks. 

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Defensive as always when it comes to her own feelings. 

“This is not fine. You never cry. What happened?” Laurel repeats, and it’s enough for Dinah to give in and explain the situation.

She broke up with Vanessa, which, in Dinah’s words, shouldn’t be a big deal, because it wasn’t anything too serious. But she was starting to care a lot about her. Until Vanessa started sporting really heavy anti-vigilante propaganda. And then Dinah started noticing the little things Vanessa did. How her cancelations never had a good reason behind them. How she’d sometimes accuse Dinah of spending too much time with Laurel. How she occasionally undermined Dinah’s integrity.

“It was never going to work out,” Dinah sighs, “but it still sucks.”

It’s a reminder for Dinah that her life isn’t normal, is never going to be. Not when she’s a metahuman, not when she was dropped twenty years in the future. Not even when she wants a little bit of normal in the form of a date. 

Laurel doesn’t quite know what to say. She’s never been good at apologies or comforting, and she doesn’t even have a need to apologize this time, but she still does. It feels like her fault for not noticing that Dinah wasn’t being treated perfectly. 

“You know you deserve better, right?”

“It’s not like she was treating me like shit-”

Laurel cuts Dinah off. “No. You deserve better. I would never treat you that way.”

The words are out before Laurel processes them. She backpedals as fast as possible. “Hypothetically. If I were the one dating you, I mean.”

Laurel wants to bash her head into the wall. That did not make her statement innocuous. 

A smile pulls at the corner of Dinah’s mouth, entertained at the obvious flush coming to Laurel’s face. 

“Next time I’m looking for a girlfriend, I’ll keep you in mind.” Dinah says it like a joke, which stings, but if she’s smiling, Laurel doesn’t want to ruin it. 

She doesn’t want to ruin it, but she also does. Laurel shrugs. “You should,” she says casually, and then moves up from Dinah’s bed.

“Okay, charmer.” Dinah rolls her eyes.

It doesn’t matter if Dinah thinks she’s joking. At least she’s smiling.

Vanessa quickly becomes a memory. 

Dinah is back to her old self at the bar and training and fighting the evil that just keeps reemerging in Star City. Her and Laurel are closer than ever, back with movie nights and sharing shifts. Laurel silently drops her plans to look for a new apartment.

Things go back to the way they were before.

Until Mia shatters the illusion. 

It’s a fairly standard post-mission drink session. Mia and William are there, Zoe, Dinah, Laurel. The whole crew. Everyone’s a little tipsy, flying on the high of a good evening, when it comes up.

Laurel’s just gone behind the bar to refill some drinks, and she’s far enough away from the table that Mia must think she can’t hear when she says, “So when are we going to talk about how Vanessa looked just like Laurel?”

“Mia!” Dinah’s answer is a hiss. There’s no mistaking the silent command to shut up within the word. 

Mia is a little too far gone to notice. “What? She did. Let’s not pretend here.”

“Mia, stop.”

“I’m just saying,” Mia pauses to finish her drink, “if you wanted to date Laurel, you should’ve just asked. She’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Laurel listens from across the room. She both wants to hear Dinah’s response and wishes she had never tuned in to the conversation. 

“We’re just friends.” 

Laurel might be imagining it, but it sounds like there’s regret to Dinah’s statement. 

“Well whose fault is that? You did go off and date someone else for a few months.” 

“Refills!” Laurel announces as she comes back to the table, shutting down the conversation entirely. And honestly, thank God. She doesn’t want to think about Vanessa. Doesn’t want to think about Dinah being with anyone. 

It’s later in the evening, as Laurel is pouring herself onto the couch, that Dinah apologies for the mention of Vanessa. She knows Laurel heard the conversation.

“Why are you apologizing? Besides, Mia brought her up.”

“But I know you never liked her.”

It’s not that Laurel didn’t like her. Not entirely. She didn’t like the position Vanessa had in Dinah’s life, not when it could have been her. 

“What I didn’t like was how she treated you.” It’s like Laurel said before: she’d never treat Dinah in that way.

Dinah didn’t have to date her, but if she was going to date anyone, it should be someone better than Vanessa.

“What?” The shocked question catches Laurel by surprise. She didn’t mean to say that last part out loud.

Laurel swallows past the panic building up inside her. There’s not really a way to get out of this one. She repeats, “You deserve better. It doesn’t have to be me, but you deserve someone better.”

“It doesn’t have to be you?”

It feels like Dinah is talking in slow motion. Laurel just wants to get past this part and get to the part where it’s all fine again, instead of awkward. 

Laurel nods.

“It doesn’t have to be you,” Dinah reiterates, “but…”

“It could be.”

Laurel’s heart is a drum pounding out of her chest. She holds her breath while she waits for Dinah to say something. Anything. It feels like she’s waiting forever, and Laurel’s about to apologize for making this whole thing weird, when Dinah chuckles. 

She laughs, then hangs her head in her hands.

To say Laurel is confused is an understatement. It shows on her face.

“The whole reason I even said yes to Vanessa’s first date was because I thought you weren’t interested.” 

Which is baffling because, well, how could Dinah not see how Laurel was with her. “ _Why_ would you think I wasn’t interested?”

“Because you never said anything!”

“ _You_ never said anything,” Laurel points out.

“Oh my God,” Dinah groans. “We’re idiots.”

Laurel doesn’t much feel like an idiot. She’s been holding on to feelings for Dinah for so long that she can’t fathom why Dinah thought she wasn’t interested. She was pretty sure it was obvious despite her efforts to conceal it, but evidently not. 

Dinah comes to sit next to Laurel on the couch. “I didn’t know,” she whispers.

“Well, I tried pretty hard to hide it. Guess I succeeded.”

Maybe Laurel shouldn’t have tried so hard. She should’ve snuck in more hints, made it clear. But that would’ve involved vulnerability and, well, Laurel was never built for that. 

Dinah reaches a hand out to Laurel’s and intertwines their fingers. She’s tentative in her motion, like she’s waiting for Laurel to pull back. Laurel would never.

“You’re the only person I could ever really be with,” Dinah says. When she’s asked to elaborate, she does.

Dinah was never going to open up to anyone else about her past. Even if she was willing to divulge her powers and her vigilantism to a partner, the whole time-traveled-here-from-2020 part would never be believed. No one would ever understand Dinah completely.

No one but Laurel. 

“Oh.” Laurel came to that conclusion about herself long ago. Dinah is the only person who’s ever truly known her. She just resigned herself to a lifetime of never being with Dinah as more than a friend.

So maybe Laurel too was an idiot. 

She’d been so afraid to ruin her friendship with Dinah that she convinced herself she’d have to watch Dinah be with someone else forever. She’d have to watch Dinah love someone else. 

Apparently those fears were unfounded.

Laurel adjusts herself to hold both of Dinah’s hands. 

“Dinah Drake,” Dinah rolls her eyes at the use of her full name, “will you go on a date with me?”

“You’re an idiot.”

Laurel just smiles. She knows when Dinah says it, what she really means is _yes_. 


End file.
